


A Timeless Promise

by sylphiawings



Series: The Life and Times of Aera Sylvarant [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Spoilers, Gen, Mental Link, Promises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26378017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylphiawings/pseuds/sylphiawings
Summary: In the last legs of the Dragonsong War, Aera makes a vow to one of the First Brood.
Series: The Life and Times of Aera Sylvarant [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906948
Kudos: 5
Collections: #FFxivWrite2020 Final Fantasy 30 Day Writing Challenge





	A Timeless Promise

**Author's Note:**

> There are heavy spoilers for the end of Heavensward. Please proceed at your risk!
> 
> This is a small drabble for the 30-day #FFxivWrite2020 challenge on Tumblr by [Moen Moen](https://sea-wolf-coast-to-coast.tumblr.com/)! This story is based on the eighth prompt, [Day 8: Clamor.](https://sea-wolf-coast-to-coast.tumblr.com/post/628717421293879296/prompt-8-clamor)

The battle on the Steps of Faith was fierce, bloody and unyielding from both sides of the Dragonsong War.

Even as Aera walked unflinchingly towards where the two of the First Brood were fighting, razor-sharp talons ripping through flesh and wing, she could still hear the clamor of steel against claw, the Temple Knights fighting against Nidhogg's brood. Ishgard was holding their own, she knew, but it was only a matter of time. She had to settle this, and she had to do it now.

When Nidhogg had Hraesvelgr pinned under him, Aera held his single eye in her hand, head held high. She _would_ end this.

Nidhogg's feral glare stared into her own as he saw her walk towards him, his brother's eye in her hand. Hraesvelgr, though under his mercy, gave a low chuckle.

Suddenly, brutally, a flashback seared her mind, a memory from her Echo flowing through her, unbidden.

  


* * *

  


"Must you not trust them so, my love?" Ratatoskr said, her words filled with sadness.

"They are unworthy," Nidhogg snarled out. "They are but newborns compared to us timeless dragons. What would they know?"

The two Elder Wyrms stood on the edge of platforms under the golden skies of Sohr Kai, speaking in their ancient Dragonspeak, but Aera understood them just fine through her Echo. The pillars of Zenith shone in the distance, a majestic beauty of Hraesvelgr's throne. Their surroundings seemed so vibrant and full of life, and most importantly, they were _cared_ for, in a civilization where the Spoken and Dragons lived together in peace, long before the days of the Ishgardian city-state. Long before the Dragonsong war.

"'Unworthy' is not for us to decide," Ratatoskr said gently.

Nidhogg let out a small hiss, not unlike a snort on a normal tongue. "I have seen the small seed of greed in their hearts. If we trust them with our most deepest secrets, how will we know they will keep and honor that trust?" he said.

Aera raised her hand. The memory felt so real. Was this because of the fact that she was seeing through Nidhogg's memories, a being so much more ancient and stronger than most people's memories she's been through so far? She could feel the breeze on her skin, can sense the warm sunlight seeping through her cloth and armor.

"That will start with us, my love," Ratatoskr simply said.

Nidhogg turned, not convinced. "We will discuss this another day," he simply said as he readied his wings to fly. "I must attend to my brood shortly."

Ratatoskr lowered her head, much like a resigned sigh. "If you must."

The Warrior of Light could still hear the small clamor of battle over the memory. Strange, Aera thought. Whenever the Echo seized her, the real world felt distant, but this time, it was as if she existed in two places at once. As Nidhogg flew away to his abode, the Aery visible in the distance, Ratatoskr turned her large body away from the platform.

Aera flinched as the Great Wyrm seemingly stopped and stared in the direction where she was standing, but then she remembered, this was simply a memory. There was no way that Ratatoskr knew she was listening--

"I can feel you, child," Ratatoskr said, not unlike a mother chiding their daughter for eavesdropping. "I cannot see you, but I can feel your presence." She looked straight as where Aera was standing.

Aera held her breath. This was the first time a memory of the Echo had addressed her, as if she was there. How?

"Strange," she said. "You are here and not here at the same time. Even I cannot be sure," Ratatoskr nodded, closing her eyes in contemplation. "But my mind's eye can see your aether, clear as day."

Aeras eyes grew wide. "I-- I'm sorry. I don't know how I got here," she said.

"You speak," Ratatoskr let out a small chuckle, and the wheeze from her breath passed through Aera, as if they were standing in the same place, not separated by time and space. "And your blessing... I see. Father oft spoke of Hydaelyn and Her children." She paused momentarily to take a step forward, and she was so close Aera could touch her snout. "Perhaps that is how you are here, child."

Aera bit her lip. "Forgive me for being so rude, I never meant to intrude," she said. "Usually this is just a memory - I never had anyone notice me during this, let alone _talk_ to me."

Ratatoskr opened her eyes, and somehow, her gaze reminded Aera of her mother. The familiarity made her heart pang in nostalgia. "You hold my brother's eye," she observed.

Aera was suddenly brought back to the Steps of Faith, and indeed, she was holding Hraesvelgr's eye in her hand, the item pulsating with aether. She looked up, and she was back in the Echo memory, looking at Ratatoskr.

"Tell me," the Great Wyrm asked, "What of my brothers?" Ratatoskr shifted lower, as if she was sitting. "What of Thordan and his knights? Are we at peace?"

Aera frowned. "Do you truly wish to know the answer?" she hesitated.

Ratatoskr looked into her eyes, and after a long moment, she raised her head. "I do, and yet, at the same time, I do not," she said, looking into the distance, where Nidhogg flew towards the Aery. "Would it that this discussion I am having could change something, with a child of Hydaelyn no less," she said, her features forlorn. "But I know, in my mind's eye, that it will change naught."

Aera could still hear the battle rage on, even in this memory, still. "I'm sorry," she sincerely said.

"Promise me, child," Ratatoskr said, looking again at Aera. "Promise me that a future awaits where Dragon and Man live in peace," she said. "That is all I ask."

Aera is brought back to the present, where she stands firm against Nidhogg, on the edge of the Steps of Faith. Ready to end this thousand-year war. Ready for a new future. But until then, she will have to slay him to make it happen. After so many deaths, so many people fighting for a _lie_...

Ysayle and Haurchefant's visage flash through her, a brutal reminder of the friends she had lost.

She returns back to the memory. "I promise," she said with conviction to Ratatoskr.

Ratatoskr bowed. "Thank you, Warrior of Light," she said gratefully. Aera wondered if she was worth that thanks, that promise.

  


* * *

  


As the Echo ended, Aera closed her eyes and prayed, before she unsheathed her weapon, ready to face Nidhogg. Ratatoskr's plea rang endlessly in her ears.


End file.
